MRI: Development of X-Mili: An Open, Programmable Platform to Conquer the 5G and 6G Wireless Spectrum

Communication in the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency bands has emerged as a potential solution to the bandwidth crunch problem by realizing multi-Gbps rates. Communication in the 28 GHz and 38 GHz spectrum bands is a major building block of the 5G cellular architecture, and communication at even higher frequencies is expected to play a major role in the upcoming 6G architecture.

The proposed project will acquire the necessary hardware and software components to build X-Mili, an 8-node mmWave experimental testbed, which would combine the following features: (i) dual-band operation at both 60 GHz and 28 GHz, enabling both WLAN and5G cellular research, and extensibility towards higher (6G) frequency bands, (ii) practical phased antenna arrays, (iii) bidirectional SISO, 2x2 SU-MIMO, and MU-MIMO operations in both bands, (iv) full programmability at all layers of the protocol stack, and (vi) O-RAN compliance.

Example projects enabled by the proposed infrastructure include characterization of ultra-wideband MIMO (Multiple-Input & Multiple-Output) and OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) channels and new PHY layer design for 5G and 6G bands, cross-layer design of novel algorithms for single-user and multi-user MIMO and link adaptation, machine learning-driven link and network adaptation, resource allocation, and network management, software defined networking, security in 5G networks, joint sensing and communications, enabling high-bandwidth, low-latency applications over mmWave networks, spectrum sensing, and vital sign monitoring. The proposed development activity would provide the mmWave research community with a unique experimental platform that may be instrumental in advancing research activities in the fields of mmWave communications, networking, and sensing.

All measurement data generated during the development phase as well as datasets contributed by research groups using the instrument would become publicly available.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.